


Field Journal, Entry the Fourth

by kingthranduiil



Series: Greek Mythology Campaign [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 22:21:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5022742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingthranduiil/pseuds/kingthranduiil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I’m currently sitting at the back of Methe’s Tavern in Olympia, awaiting the arrival of these other three demigods. I have time to spare, so I figured I’d do something useful with it.</p><p>It’s been three weeks since Theo died. Writing out this tale can only make it more real, I suppose, but I feel as though I need to do it. And it’s not as if I have anyone to talk with, not anymore. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Field Journal, Entry the Fourth

**Author's Note:**

> Know that I don't particularly enjoy first person narrative, but I felt since this was a journal entry it'd be best to keep it this way. I tried re-working it into third person, but it just didn't flow as well.

I’m currently sitting at the back of Methe’s Tavern in Olympia, awaiting the arrival of these other three demigods. I have time to spare, so I figured I’d do something useful with it.

It’s been three weeks since Theo died. Writing out this tale can only make it more real, I suppose, but I feel as though I need to do it. And it’s not as if I have anyone to talk with, not anymore. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning…

It had been two weeks since Theo and I got back from our last job for the guild. To keep a long story short, we had (purposely) botched it, due to some… moral disagreements, and to say the guild leader was furious would have been severely downplaying it. He’d beaten us both rather severely, the worst we’d ever endured, and we still bore the now-yellowing bruises of our punishment. We had been talking more seriously about leaving the guild, planning long into the nights when no one would hear. We didn’t know when we’d leave, but knew we’d need to wait for the right opportunity.

The guild leader had called us into his chambers to give us our next mission. He didn’t speak of our last, only said we were to break into a rival’s home and steal a large sum of gold. A typical job, the leader sent us out with a warning in his eyes: _you’d better not mess this one up_. We took three days to plan and scope out the rival’s house, a grand structure with multiple balconies, soaring ceilings, and the same marble pillars most upper-scale houses had. We headed out under the cover of night, cloaks obscuring our faces and footsteps silent on the stone-paved roads, reaching the house in about half an hour’s time.

Already knowing the layout and where the guards most likely were, we got to work. I left Theo just outside the property line, and hurried into the waiting shadows of the house. I fished a length of rope out of my pack and tossed it up around the railing of the balcony above me and securing the other end around my waist. Using the rope as a pulley, I climbed up the side of the pillar until I reached the top and pulled myself quietly over the railing. Looking around to make certain no one had seen me, I coiled the rope up and put it back before turning to enter the house. There wasn’t a door separating the balcony from the house, only a gross excess of draperies made of what looked to be cotton and silk. I listened intently for signs of life, and hearing nothing, gently pulled the curtains aside.

The room was indeed empty of life, so I made my way toward the doorway of the room, and peeked out into the hallway. The house was decorated more ornately than just about any I’d seen, and I’d seen many lavish houses during my career. There’d been what seemed like hundreds of pillows covering the bed in that room, the walls were lined with tapestries, and the cold, marble floors were carpeted with fabric. I wasn’t complaining though; it made it much easier to be silent in my movements, and the cloth even seemed to absorb the sound. I continued heading towards where we believed the gold was kept, sticking to the shadows as much as possible, which was usually fairly easy for me. They always seemed to pull towards me, the shadows. I couldn’t control them, but I had a feeling I would be able to if I could figure out how to harness my power better.

I’m getting a bit off track and long-winded, I think, perhaps trying to delay the inevitable. But I’ll just get on with it. We were simply supposed to steal the gold and get out; undetected, if all went well. I met Theo in what must have been the owner’s bedroom, as even more pillows than the last room covered the largest bed I’d ever seen. Always the joker, Theo gestured towards the bed before making a suggestive face, and ever the _wet blanket_ as he liked to call me, I made an equally rude gesture in response. He grinned at me before continuing into the closet area, where a rather large decorative chest sat, half-obscured in clothing.

We were reaching to open the chest to make sure what we sought was inside when we heard yelling from across the house. Unable to make out what was being said, I walked back towards the entrance of the spacious room, and made out the words _fire, bring water!_ I went back into the closet and told Theo what I’d heard, and we grabbed the heavy chest and started to head towards where we would exit the house. We walked down the long corridor and started smelling smoke as we approached where it opened to the main part of the house. When we got there, the room was black with smoke, bright red flames licking at even the ceiling of the vaulted room.

All of the opulent fabrics in the house only fueled the fire, and the crackling sound of the drapery, tapestries, and furniture being consumed was almost deafening. We turned to go back the way we came, only to discover that the corridor was now being engulfed in flames as well. I had a brief thought of _How had the fire even gotten over there?_ before Theo caught my eye and he looked up, towards the balcony. I nodded in agreement, turning my eyes towards the chest we still held between us.

I looked at Theo again, conveying my thoughts in one look, a means of communication learned after a year as lovers (was that what we had been?), three years as best friends, and over eight years as partners in the guild. _Should we leave the chest, and risk the guild leader’s wrath, or take it and risk our lives?_ He seemed to consider this for a moment before moving to place the chest on the ground, and I followed suit, but I could still see the gears turning in his head. He had a strange look in his eye, one that was barely readable. Concern? Fear? Fondness?

Knowing we didn’t exactly have time to dawdle, I hastily asked “What are you thinking?” He paused for one second, mouth open like he was going to speak, before he grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a kiss, somehow both heated and tender at the same time.

He pulled away after far too quick a moment, gaze locked with mine, and said “You’re far more important than that chest.” I immediately went to tell him that the guild leader certainly wouldn’t feel the same way, but before I could open my mouth, he continued. “Let’s leave. The guild, I mean, right now. We can leave–they’ll think we died in the fire, so they won’t come after us. It’s the opportunity we’ve been waiting for, Eri.”

My mouth dropped open, and I figure I must have looked like a fish, gaping at him like that. I gave it a second’s thought before hauling him in for another kiss. We parted only a heartbeat later, and I smiled and said “Let’s go, then.”

We ran toward the balcony closest to us; the fire was still roaring, and had already blocked off the balcony that led outdoors. A quick survey of the room told me most of the other doorways were obscured by flames as well, the heavy cotton draperies I’d noticed before burning with a vengeance. We’d have to cross over to the other balcony, though it looked almost too far a jump to make. We took out our ropes and swiftly scaled pillars, not bothering to take the ropes with us this time. We sprinted across the landing to where the balconies were the closest together, halting at the very edge. We looked around for some way to reach the other platform, but saw nothing.

The heat was intense up this high. The curtains that had once covered the windows were long gone, and the hot, smokey air was gathering at the peak of the ceiling; sweat had long since soaked my dark hair and was dripping down my spine. Theo turned to me then, and said the inevitable, “We’re going to have to jump.” I swore an oath, not caring which gods heard, and nodded. “I’ll go first; I’m sure I can make it.” I murmured my assent, not particularly happy with this, but knowing he wouldn’t budge on the matter. He jogged back on the balcony as far as he could, before running and jumping agilely across the gap, landing just centimeters from the edge.

Looking over at him, suddenly I had this strange feeling, like something bad would happen. At the time, I think I believed that I would fall, that I wouldn’t make the jump. I was scared. I thought I would die there, would burn to a crisp.

I suppose the whole life-flashing-before-your-eyes myth was true, in a way. I was seeing my life, but a part of it I hadn’t experienced yet. I hadn’t gotten to see Galena again; I’d never know what became of her, whether she was alive and happy or something far, far worse. I’d never gotten revenge on Zeus for killing my mother, wouldn’t get to make him pay for what he took from me. And I’d never get to… well, _live_ with Theo. Just the two of us, travelling the world, seeing the sights and, for the first time in a long while for both of us, experience full, true happiness.

I was pulled out of my reverie by Theo, shouting at me to get my attention. I focused on his face, and even from what my fear-addled mind thought was miles away, I could see the frantic look in his eyes, despite him trying to remain calm and get us both out of this ordeal alive. I couldn’t focus enough to hear what he was saying, but he pointed behind me, and I spun to see the flames twice as close as they had been just a moment ago. I had even less room to get a running start.

I turned back to Theo and he was reaching out towards me, “You have to jump, Eri, _right now!_ ”

I shook my head. I was afraid. _Terrified._

“Do you trust me?” The voice calling out to me dragged me from the cloud of panic. I look over at Theo. Despite our initial rivalry and bad attitudes, we’ve trained together for over seven years. I know him almost as well as I know myself–from how he fights (with skill and finesse, but also with power) to how he likes his tea in the morning (a splash of cream, one spoonful of sugar).

I trusted him with my life.

I backed up as far as I could–so far I felt the heat of the flames through my thick boots–before running full tilt towards the edge of the balcony. Looking up as I ran, I saw Theo had disappeared from the landing; I could only see where the curtains were dancing, pulled with the air sweeping in to feed the massive fire. Unable to stop my sprint, I was forced to keep going, and I launched myself across the gap. I slammed into the side of the wall, and my fingers struggled to keep a grip on the ash-covered stone. The breath was torn from my lungs on impact, and my feet automatically scrambled for purchase against the stone pillar supporting the overhang. I coughed as my lungs tried to take in air, but received only ashy, billowing smoke. My heart seemed to lurch then, and bile rose in my throat at the intense feeling; I knew then that something was _very_ wrong.

I managed to breathe and regain my composure and pulled myself up over the edge of the balcony, heart still rattling in my chest. I stood up shakily, and moved to push aside what must have been the only remaining drapes in the building at that point, Theo’s name on my lips. I stepped out into the cool night, a relief from the burning air inside the house, but didn’t see Theo anywhere. I saw a bit of some dark substance speckled on the ground that stood out in my mind as odd, but in the darkness I couldn’t see what it was, so ignored it. I stepped over to the railing on the balcony, the same place I’d climbed in not half an hour earlier, and looked down.

Down at the base of the balcony, next to the glittering white pillars, laid Theo. I vaulted over the low stone wall that enclosed the landing and grabbed around the pillar as best I could, sliding down it far too quickly. I landed poorly, twisting my ankle a bit, but I didn’t care. Theo was on his back, and his limbs stuck out at all the wrong angles. In the light of the still blazing fire, I could see his torso was drenched in deep red blood, three deep gashes raked through his chest. His unseeing blue eyes stared up at the stars as we had done together so many nights, my head on his chest as he pointed out the stars to me, falling asleep under the night sky–something that would never happen again.

Grief spilled over me in a tidal wave, and a sound escaped me then I could never describe, and at the time I didn’t even realize it had come from my own mouth. Tears spilled from my eyes, blurring my vision, as I reached down to cup his still-warm cheek. _How could this have happened? How could this night have gone so wrong?_ Behind me, the fire burst through the window, almost hitting me, and for a moment, I was tempted not to move. To just lay there, to let the fire consume me as this night had consumed all I cared about.

But something compelled me to move, and I stood, knees wobbling. My ankle throbbed, but I barely registered the pain as I tore the cloak from around me and laid it out on the ground, shifting Theo’s body on top of it. I walked backwards away from the house, pulling the now heavy cloak behind me, sobs fighting their way out of my smoke-irritated throat.

When I was a safe distance from the house, I stopped. The house was entirely consumed by flames now, but I didn’t see anyone around, didn’t see if anyone else escaped the fire. Didn’t care if no one had.

Knowing perhaps better than most how important a burial was, I set to digging a hole. I didn’t have any tools with me, so I dug with my hands until my fingernails were bloodied and my hands scraped raw. I ignored it and kept digging until the sun started to peek over the horizon. The fire had almost burned itself out by this point, though smoke still rose into the air. Either the house was too far from the main city to be seen, or no one had cared if the horrible man whose home it was had lived or not.

My mind was clear of most things as I dug, except how Theo had died. Had been killed. _Murdered._ It was clear: there were those three deep wounds on his chest, and Theo would never have fallen over that balcony unless he was forced. I belatedly realized those dark splotches I had seen on the balcony had been his blood. So someone had stabbed him up there, then pushed him over the edge to finish him. I had no idea who could have done this–I hadn’t seen anyone on the balcony or down on the ground below. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

I also thought of when I hit the balcony’s edge, and my heart had leapt to my throat. I knew now, that had been the exact moment Theo’s soul had left him. I had felt it. I knew something bad would happen and I felt him _die,_ felt it in my very soul. And I thought of how if I had jumped earlier, hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t been so gods-damned _afraid_ I could have been over there with Theo when he was attacked, could have stopped them from killing him, could have helped him…

I wiped that from my mind. It was too late now. It would always be too late.

I finished digging the hole and dragged myself out onto the grass. Theo’s body still laid there on my cloak, still unmoving, still dead. I could cry over his body more, but there wasn’t any point, he was long gone from it.

I grabbed the edge of my cloak with blood- and dirt-caked fingers, pulling it down the steep slope I had dug into the front of the grave, shifting the body into place. I straightened and paused for a moment to look at his face. The face I had woken up to so many mornings, the face that had smiled at me like no one had before, the face that held the eyes and lips and nose and hair I _loved (yes, of course it was love)_ so dearly, trying to memorize every last detail.

After a whole night of repressing my emotions, fresh tears finally slipped down my cheeks again, and I let them. I reached into my leather coin pouch and placed an [obol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon%27s_obol) over his heart, to pay Charon for Theo's journey across the river Styx. I turned away then, stepped out of the grave and started to push the dirt back into the earth. Not exactly a proper grave, nor the one he deserved, but it would suffice.

I finished the task, and stood over the fresh mound of dirt, my fingers playing with the chain around my neck, the one I had worn tucked into my robes since it was given to me by Theo. A small piece of pressed silver dangled from it; on one side was a likeness of the three-headed dog Cerberus, and on the other a tiny inscription, _φιλτατε, philtate, beloved._ I had thought it was overly saccharine at the time, and had scoffed, but smiled and turned while lifting my hair for him to fasten it around my neck anyway. I thought of leaving it there, as a marker of sorts, but was afraid it might tether his soul to this world, _and afraid of forgetting him,_ I thought, so I kept it.

After saying a prayer to Hades, a plea to guide Theo safely in the Underworld, I turned from the grave and headed south, the rising sun on my left. Without a cloak to keep me warm, the cool morning air nipped at my skin, but I was already bone-cold from working through the night. I didn’t know why I was headed south, exactly, it was just a feeling, and I knew I needed to get as far from here as quickly as I could manage. As I steeled myself for a long journey away from here, away from the guild, I couldn’t help but think of the bitter irony of the situation and a broken chuckle, more a huff of air than anything, escaped from my lips:

Theo’s plan had worked.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to cause myself undue pain, what can I say? Also in case it wasn't clear - Eri can always sense the passing of those close to her (either physically or emotionally, in this case it happened to be both). It wasn't necessarily because they were soul mates or anything like that.


End file.
